The ancient Anglo-Saxon surname Toppe came from the Old Norse name Toppr. Many Scandinavian personal names were left in the British Isles as a legacy of the Viking raids which plagued the coastal regions of Britain from the 8th to 10th centuries, and many of these eventually became Anglo-Saxon surnames.

Toppe Early Origins

Toppe Spelling Variations

Toppe Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Toppe family name include Topp, Top, Toppe and others.

Toppe Early History

Toppe Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Toppe research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Toppe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Toppe Early Notables (pre 1700)

Toppe Early Notables (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Toppe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Toppe surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Silvester Tope settled in St. John's Newfoundland in 1752; James Toup settled in Ireland's Eye Newfoundland in 1810; Joanna Toop settled in Jamaica in 1731..

Citations

Citations

Other References

Shirley, Evelyn Philip. Noble and Gentle Men of England Or Notes Touching The Arms and Descendants of the Ancient Knightley and Gentle Houses of England Arranged in their Respective Counties 3rd Edition. Westminster: John Bowyer Nichols and Sons, 1866. Print.

Bede, The Venerable. Historia Ecclesiatica Gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History Of the English People). Available through Internet Medieval Sourcebook the Fordham University Centre for Medieval Studies. Print.

Skordas, Guest. Ed. The Early Settlers of Maryland an Index to Names or Immigrants Complied from Records of Land Patents 1633-1680 in the Hall of Records Annapolis, Maryland. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1968. Print.

The Toppe Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Toppe Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.